The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) welcomed the first batch of A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft at Kano state on Thursday. Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information confirmed the arrival of the fighter aircraft in a statement. The first batch of 6 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft have departed the United States of America on Wednesday, 14 July 2021 enroute Nigeria.
The 6 aircraft leapfrogged through 5 countries including Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Algeria before arriving their final destination in Nigeria.The celebration of the arrival of the new aircraft is sobered by the recent loss of its Alpha jet to terrorists and the crash of a Beechcraft King350 aircraft to a mishap that claimed the lives of former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Attahiru and ten other senior officers.
An official induction ceremony of the aircraft into the inventory of the Nigerian Air Force is already being planned at a later date in August 2021 to be announced in due course. The Office of the Director of Public Relations and Information remains open to any inquiry regarding the arrival and induction of the aircraft. The second batch of the A-29 Super Tucano is expected to arrive in the country before the end of the year.
The A-29 Super Tucano is a Brazilian turboprop light attack aircraft designed and built by Embraer as a development of the Embraer EMB 312 Tucano. The A-29 Super Tucano carries a wide variety of weapons, including precision-guided munitions, and was designed to be a low-cost system operated in low-threat environments. Embraer has set up a production line in the United States in conjunction with Sierra Nevada Corporation for the manufacture of A-29s to export customers.
